Depeche Mode: ‘Somebody Should Shoot Simon Cowell’

Depeche Mode have spoken out against Simon Cowell, the media mogul who judged several seasons of 'American Idol' here in the States and created the similar British competitive singing show 'The X Factor,' for the damage they insist such programs have wrought on the music industry. In fact, Mode guitarist-keyboardist Martin Gore even went so far as to say that he would like to see Cowell shot for his actions, although that comment was admittedly tongue-in-cheek.

“I’m not advocating violence, but I think somebody should shoot Simon Cowell," Gore recently told Music Week. "His influence in the music industry over [several] years now... it’s just like, so many people think that that's what music is. What happened to bands getting together? They are very few and far between now and the ones that do probably can’t afford to get into a studio and make a record.”

Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan also offered his thoughts on the state of music in the post-Cowell era. “It’s a pretty horrible business today really, I’ve got to say," chimed in the singer. "You have to be tough and you've got to be thick skinned because there are going to be things written about you that you’re not going to like. You’re going to get scrutinized, your work will not always be liked and if they do like something really a lot they’re probably not going to like the next thing and compare it to the last thing."

"It takes a time for a band to grow if they’re any good," added Gahan. "We were lucky that we were taken under the wing of [producer] Daniel Miller who never once in the studio said, ‘Where’s the hit song?’”

Depeche Mode recently announced plans for a 2013 European arena tour in support of an as-yet-untitled album due out next spring.